October 3, 2018

In FY 2018: Debt up $1,271,158,167,127; Feds borrowed $8,172 per every American with a job

fromXNSNews: The federal debt increased by $1,271,158,167,126.72 in fiscal 2018, according to data released today by the Treasury.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Due process reflects human nature and it is our best chance for fairness

fromTheHill: Due process acknowledges that accusers can be mistaken, confused, or lying. It attempts to separate evidence from error and malice in order to judge an accused on the former.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Voting rights for felons becoming a key issue for Democrats

fromGoverning.com: Florida has emerged as a battleground in the fight over the 6 million people, in and out of jail, who can't vote because they were convicted of a felony.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Why Kavanaugh's denial is air tight

fromReason: A column by Barry Farber. So what caused the stutter-stepping from “I want to be anonymous!” to “He tried to rape me!” and then “I’ll testify only after my demands are met”?
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

USDA school lunches still stink

fromReason: School's back in session, and that it means time for reports of crummy government-approved school lunches.
Regulation Nation      Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Brett Kavanaugh's illegal beer consumption highlights the perversity of drinking ages

fromReason: The Supreme Court nominee's teenaged tippling was typical, although the law pretends otherwise.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

VIDEO: Charles Murray - Lawless Government

A Missouri Town Demands Substantive Due Process

by George Will.   Is this the future? If Pagedale, Mo., is a glimpse of the future, the future is going to be annoying. Pagedale might represent the future of governance unless some of its residents succeed in their lawsuit against their government. If they do, it will be because they successfully invoked the principle of substantive due process. Pagedale is  ... MORE

VIDEO: Government Like A Jealous Boyfriend

Paul Albaugh: The Need for Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform

Because theft should not be a legal activity.    Among the many reforms needed in government, civil asset forfeiture might be near the top. While a majority of Americans are not affected by the practice, it’s a problem that if left unchecked could get more out of hand than it already is. The French philosopher Frederic Bastiat warned of “legal   ... MORE

Johan Bennett: New Bipartisan Bill Strikes At The Heart Of The Federal Government's Civil Asset Forfeiture Apparatus

Program allows property to be taken without due process. Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu and GOP Rep. Justin Amash just teamed up Wednesday to introduce a bill into the House with the goal of eliminating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial marijuana enforcement program. The DEA uses the Domestic Cannabis    ... MORE

And You Thought Civil Asset Forfeiture Was Bad Enough…

by Trevor Burrus.    Remember Megaupload.com? It was once the 13th most popular website on the internet, with more than 82 million unique visitors and a billion total page views during its seven-year operation. The site allowed people to store files on the cloud for later use — and some users inevitably stored copyrighted TV shows, films, songs,   ... MORE

Jason Pye: FreedomWorks’ State Civil Asset Forfeiture Scorecard Shows Dire Need For Fundamental Reform

Government's license to steal.   The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of the American legal system. When someone is accused of a crime, the burden is rightfully on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before a punishment is meted out. But another area of the law, known as civil asset forfeiture, allows ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: The Tyranny Of One Man's Opinion

Having your own kill list.         Thomas Cromwell was the principal behind-the-scenes fixer for much of the reign of King Henry VIII. He engineered the interrogations, convictions and executions of many whom Henry needed out of the way, including his two predecessors as fixer and even the king's second wife, Queen Anne. When Cromwell's son,  ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: Kick Open The Doorway To Liberty

What are we waiting for?  “The greatness of America lies in the right to protest for right.”—Martin Luther King Jr. Everything this nation once stood for is being turned on its head. Free speech, religious expression, privacy, due process, bodily integrity, the sanctity of human life, the sovereignty of the family, individuality, the right to self-      ... MORE

New Mexico Passes Bill To Abolish Civil Asset Forfeiture

by Casey Harper.        The New Mexico state legislature passed a groundbreaking bill Saturday to abolish civil asset forfeiture. Now Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, who will likely get attention as a potential 2016 vice presidential candidate, will have the bill on her desk. Civil asset forfeiture is a practice where police can take and      ... MORE

Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Goes Mainstream

by Jordan Richardson.    Long overdue moves toward justice. Civil asset forfeiture enables law enforcement agencies to seize money and property that they suspect is being used to commit a crime or represents profits from criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies do not need to convict or even charge the property owner to make these     ... MORE

Joe Sobran: Does The World Need More Democracy?

Or does it need more freedom?    During turbulent times like the present, Americans make fervent appeals to “democracy,” which they equate with freedom. President Bush is eager to impose democracy on Iraq and other countries whose governments he disapproves of. Woodrow Wilson only wanted to “make the world safe for democracy”     ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: The Presumption Of Liberty

The presumption has become tyranny.     In the years following the adoption of the Constitution, before he was Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson and then president himself, James Madison, who wrote the Constitution, was a member of the House of Representatives. During that period of his life, he gave       ... MORE

Justices To Rule On Warrantless Searches Of Hotel Records

Police demand arbitrary access to hotel records.  The Supreme Court agreed Monday to referee a dispute over police access to hotels' guest information without first getting a search warrant. The justices said they will hear an appeal by the city of Los Angeles of a lower court ruling that struck down an ordinance that requires hotel operators to   ... MORE

Tim Walberg: Stopping The Abuse Of Civil Asset Forfeiture

The robbery of the highwayman.      Imagine you are driving down the highway on your way to buy a car. You spent months researching years, makes and models, and you finally found somebody who was selling the exact ride you were looking for at a reasonable price. Suddenly, police pull you over for allegedly going 37 mph in a 35 mph zone.    ... MORE

Peter Van Buren: Drone-Killing The Fifth Amendment

Murder is murder.       You can't get more serious about protecting the people from their government than the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, specifically in its most critical clause: "No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." In 2011, the White House ordered the drone-killing of American citizen   ... MORE

VIDEO: The NDAA Explained In 3 Minutes

A fundamental tool of tyranny.

Rand Paul Is Right to Oppose Targeted Killing Of Americans

by Chris Edelson.           Secret law has no place in a constitutional democracy. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has quite rightly called on the Obama administration to publicly disclose its legal justifications for the claimed power to order the killing, without trial or hearing, of U.S. citizens abroad who are suspected of being terrorist leaders planning attacks    ... MORE

Appeals Court Supports 6th Amendment, Jury Nullification

by Joe Wolverton, II.       ALERT: Court upholds Constitution! Like a scene from Perry Mason, Juan Salazar, a man accused of several gun- and drug-related crimes, rejected his attorney’s advice and took the stand, completely confessing his guilt. Whereas in Perry Mason, such a statement would have led to the slender, male jury foreman    ... MORE